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October 12, 2009
Kop Hill Hillclimb 2009
Antonio Alvendia
Set in the beautiful country lanes of Princes Risborough, the Kop Hill Hillclimb is one of the oldest hill climbs in England. During the early 1900s it was one of the largest motorsport events in the UK. The hill itself is a pretty straight road, but it’s over 1000 metres long to the summit and rises to 100 metres high. Big crowds would line the edges of the road to watch drivers and motorcyclists try to achieve the fastest times and speeds up the hill. Unfortunately, as the speeds got faster, so did the risks, and on the 28th of March 1925 an accident involving a spectator led to the end of the original Kop Hill event and led to the RAC banning all motorsports on public roads.
On the 26th and 27th of September, organisers decided to do a Kop Hill Commemorative Run to bring the sounds and sights and even smells (mmm, Castrol R) back to Kop Hill again. Over 250 cars and bikes were there, ranging in age from the 1900s right up to 1980s and even some very special modern cars (which no doubt require the owners to compare car insurance carefully). Continue reading and view more photos on MotorMavens!
July 10, 2009
Six Degrees of Automotive Separation: MG and Mercedes
By Dan Strohl
Hemmings
Up until now, we’ve avoided big-name companies in the Hemmings Six Degrees of Separation Challenge series simply because the bigger a company gets the more pies it has fingers in. But why not see how two big companies are connected? After all, as we’ve stipulated (and as you’ve so eagerly responded), the point of this little exercise is to come up with obscure links rather than to connect two companies in the shortest way possible. Continue reading at Hemmings.
May 15, 2009
Two British Racing Green Roadsters in the Rain
By Rob Einaudi
Editor-in-Chief
Snapped these pics last week while walking back to my car after work. I thought they looked kind of cool together.
Continue reading "Two British Racing Green Roadsters in the Rain" »
March 31, 2009
They Still Make MG Parts?
Grassroots Motorsports
Those of us raised on Hondas, Subarus and Mustangs may not remember a time when buying a sporty car meant looking toward England. Go back to the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, and MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey sent a huge number of fun, inexpensive sports cars our way.
While you could say the run pretty much ended around 1980, there’s still a ton of these cars on the road. This weekend I’ll be at the British Motor Trade Conference meeting with shop owners, parts manufacturers and others who still cater to this market. And if the brands I mentioned sound totally foreign to you, one day you need to sample an MGA. As a Miata owner, I concede that it might be the best roadster ever.
December 31, 2008
British Sportscars and Classics
By Rob Einaudi
Editor-in-Chief
Yesterday on my way back from a smog check in the old Volvo I dropped by British Sportscars and Classics on Aurora. I’d passed by the fenced-in yard filled with tarp-covered British classics for years, but had never stopped to take a closer look. Owner Robin Purington has been there for over twenty years, and his shop does a mix of restoration work and repair. They were working on a Fiat 500 and an amazing 1959 Triumph Italia—one of only 280 produced, and a three year project (so far) that has involved a lot of international parts scrounging and custom fabrication. I really loved Robin’s old Bugeye race car which was parked out front (hasn’t run in years), painted in a wild shade of House of Kolor green. A ton more pics after the jump!
November 20, 2008
Old School
While visiting the Lane Motor Museum last week I got to take some MG T-series cars for a spin. While today we are surrounded by computerized climate control devices, multichannel audio devices and a zillion airbags, these are sports cars at their root. Two seats, a basic suspension and no shortage of fresh air. I think I could commute in one.
August 16, 2008
Carroll Shelby's MG Will Go On The Block At Barrett-Jackson
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
At the Las Vegas Barret-Jackson auction in mid-October, up for sale will be none other than Carroll Shelby’s personal 1949 MG TC, the ride he credits with getting him into automotive performance in the first place. The sturdy race car still runs its original 1250-cc four-banger, and it was after winning an Oklahoma road race in this car in 1952 that Shelby made the decision to dedicate his life to motorsports. I guess he figured he had no choice but to improve on the "race-tuned" roadster’s 100 horses! Follow the jump to see more.
Via Edmunds.
Continue reading "Carroll Shelby's MG Will Go On The Block At Barrett-Jackson" »
July 28, 2008
5.0L MG at the All-British Field Meet!
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
That’s a Ford 302 from an ’85 Mustang that rumbles beneath the hood of this little MG, piped through a gnarly set of custom-made through-the-fender headers that terminate in dual side-dump glasspacks. I love how the car keeps a refined look despite its wild insides, though the exhaust tips poking out in front of the blacked-out Triumph wheels give it away somewhat. The owner, Craig, says he doesn’t really get a lot of hassle from the pursits about this conversion, because there were so many MGs made that the "sacrifice" of a few here and there to build fire-breathing street beasts doesn’t ruffle too many feathers. I got the contact info from him for the guy who did his headers—I’m hoping he can fab up something similar for my Eagle!
March 26, 2008
Midget With Attitude
By Rob Einaudi
Editor-in-Chief
Here’s another good one posted by Eric Hsu over at JDM Insider. Be sure to check out the exhaust setup after the jump.
February 27, 2008
Burly Brits
By Ralf
Chromjuwelen
